BUS-120

Essentials of Marketing

Project Report
Consumer Preference Towards Chocolates

Submitted to – Prof. Syed Ahmed Wajih

Submitted by – Ansh Gupta
Arshdeep Singh
Divam Baluja
Garima Dhir
Rishabh Jhamb
 (GROUP 3)

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

This is to certify, that the project submitted by us is an outcome of our independent and
original work. We have duly acknowledged all the sources from which the ideas and extracts
have been taken. The report is free from any plagiarism and has not been submitted elsewhere
for publication.

SIGNATURES:
Ansh Gupta
Rishabh jhamb
Divam Baluja
Arshdeep Singh
Garima Dhir
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project would not have been completed without the teachings of Prof. Syed Ahmed
Wajih who has taught every concept in depth and besides the theoretical knowledge, focused
on the practical approach which is necessary and required in today’s teaching methodology.
Also, we would like to appreciate the advancements in technology which has helped us to
search completely and stay updated with the current business times which has helped us to
complete our project.
 CONTENTS

• INTRODUCTION

• OBJECTIVES

• RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

• DATA INTERPRETATION
 Introduction

About the Industry

The chocolate industry is a steadily growing, $50 billion-a-year worldwide business centred
on the sale and consumption of chocolate. It is prevalent throughout most of the
world. Europe accounts for 45% of the world's chocolate revenue and the US$20 billion. ​Big
Chocolate​ is the grouping of major international chocolate companies in Europe and the U.S.
The U.S. companies, such as Mars and Hershey's alone, generate $13 billion a year in
chocolate sales and account for two-thirds of U.S. production. Despite the expanding reach of
the chocolate industry internationally, cocoa farmers and labourers in the ​Ivory Coast​ are
unaware of the uses of the beans. The high cost of chocolate in the ​Ivory Coast​ also means
that it is inaccessible to the majority of the population, who are unaware of what it tastes like.

India has one of the world's fastest growing chocolate market which posted a huge 13 per
cent sales growth this year, according to a research. The research conducted by London-based
global market firm Mintel states that while the chocolate sales in other nations have
stagnated, India consumed 228,000 tonnes worth of chocolate in 2017. ​Moreover, increasing
disposable income of middle-class population, changing taste preferences of Indian
consumers, growing awareness about health benefits of chocolate, and innovative marketing
& promotional strategies by manufacturers are expected to boost sales of chocolates in India
during forecast period. Some of the other factors that would drive the market are growing
online sales of chocolates, increasing demand for premium chocolates, and rising popularity
of organic and sugar-free chocolates.

Renowned Chocolate Brands

Chocolate is liked by most of the people in the world. The love for chocolates doesn’t
consider age, gender, geographical location or social status. In fact, it is one of the few
edibles that are loved across the globe; no matter what country the person belongs to.
However, every person has its own taste of liking the chocolate.

1. Ferrero Rocher
Ferrero Rocher is said to be the leading and best-selling chocolate brand in the world.
There are millions of people who are fond of this chocolate and feel the essence to have
it. An elderly person also becomes a kid while having this chocolate. This chocolate is
wrapped with a golden wrapper which itself shows the richness of it. These chocolates are
commonly used for gifting people on certain occasions. It’s also said that Ferrero Rocher
stands first among the top ten chocolate brands.

2. Cadbury
Cadbury’s tagline, “spread happiness”, says it all. It is the most well-known chocolate
brands across the world. If you happen to mention Cadbury to any Indian, you will hear a
lot of praise for this chocolate. It’s a saying that you are happy if you are sweet and to be
sweet one should taste the sweet Cadbury. The way Cadbury does their branding through
various heart-touching advertisements; it attracts people from all ages and gender.

3. Mars
Mars falls into the same family of the Galaxy and Snickers. It’s also a brand which is
famous worldwide. Mars is originated from New Jersey. These chocolates are loved by
the people who have a sweet tooth; literally. That’s because these are extremely sweet
chocolates and hence, it’s loved by the kids the most.

4. Ghirardelli
Ghirardelli is a brand of the United States, which is a partition of Swiss confectioner
Lindt. Ghirardelli is that brand that manufactures chocolates with a lot of passion and
love. This chocolate brand usually conducts a chocolate festival in the United States. This
is one of the biggest festivals to attract a good amount of people for their brand.

5. Toblerone
Toblerone chocolate is the brand from Switzerland. Toblerone chocolate is distributed
worldwide. This brand is owned by the United States’ Mondelez International Inc. The
Toblerone chocolate logo is very special and unique; because it resembles the most
popular mountain in Switzerland that is the Matterhorn. That is the reason why the
Toblerone chocolates are in mountain shapes.

6. Godiva
Godiva is another chocolate brand from Belgium. These chocolates look extremely
stunning and these have a tender sweet taste. This brand also provides a wide variety of
flavours of chocolates. Do taste this chocolate at least once in your lifetime.

7. Kit Kat
KitKat is a part of the Hershey’s company and manufactured by the same. The tagline of
this chocolate is “Have a break, have a KitKat”, which goes well while sharing the
 chocolates. The chocolate got more famous when Google named its Android operating
system 4.4 as KitKat version.

Objectives of the Study

Why People Buy Chocolates?

Today it is nearly impossible to find a grocery store that does not stock a wide variety of
chocolate. The success of chocolate as a commodity is further reflected in the enormous
respective net worth of the major chocolate production companies. The Mars Company for
instance has an estimated value of sixty billion U.S. dollars. It is thus clear that chocolate
occupies a permanent place in the global food market. Additionally, it is obvious that the
growth of the chocolate industry has been made possible by a strong and consistent demand
for chocolate products. This demand for chocolate raises two important questions; first why
do people buy chocolate and second how do people choose which chocolate to buy?

It is tempting to assume that modern day consumers buy chocolate simply because they are
biologically programmed to enjoy its taste. In fact, several scientists have argued that an
affinity for sweet goods is innately human. If this theory is in fact true, then most customers
should make chocolate purchases based solely on their personal, subjective taste preferences.
However, this is not the case. The relatively minor role that taste plays in influencing
chocolate selection becomes apparent when analysing the responses of two Harvard students
who were interviewed about their relationship with chocolate. Their insight showed that the
people’s buying patterns regarding chocolate are not influenced solely by human biological
preference. Rather these trends are the consequence of targeting marketing and advertising on
the part of chocolate producers. Typically, chocolate has been specifically marketed to
function in ways that are particularly appealing to customers. Consequently, people make
decisions about which chocolate to buy based on utility, emotion, personal ethics, and
perceived status.

Brand Preferences of the Chocolate Consumers

The brand preferences of chocolate consumer can be understood with the help of certain
attributes a consumer seeks in the product. Attributes are the characteristics an object may or
may not possess and include both intrinsic and extrinsic. We can understand the preference of
certain chocolate brands by observing pattern of the consumer choosing a product based on
its attributes.

Both tangible and intangible attributes of a product are equally important in choosing a
product or brand (Myers, 2003). There is no evidence that certain attributes are more related
to customer loyalty than others (Romariuk & Sharp, 2003). Romariuk and Sharp (2003)
suggested that marketers should focus more on how many attributes the brand should be
associated with and not what attributes. For low-involvement products, consumers have more
objective view of the nature of the attributes (e.g. food, cosmetics) because they are
constantly being advertised and promoted.

The Factors On Which People Decide to Buy the Chocolates

Consumer is the king of every market and every brand has only one objective to cater the
market and customers, whether it is Cadbury or Nestle every company has their own
marketing objectives to increase the sales as well as to satisfy the customers. So to get a
competitive edge all the brands have different marketing strategies. Like Cadbury has the
advertisement campaign running in between the TV programs in India with the highest TRP.
For example, KBC Advertisement has a huge impact on the people buying the chocolates. for
example, a 5-star ad or a Kit Kat add are Snickers ad which shows millennials getting the
hunger removed. Son there are many factors that determine the brand preferences of a
consumer the first one being taste. moving forward, people also check the price of chocolate
brand. For instance, if Ferrero Rocher’s even introduce their lower price chocolates people
who do not buy higher priced chocolates won’t even look at it because people have a
perception that this company makes expensive chocolates. another reason can be its
packaging during the festive season companies like Cadbury, Nestle, Amul make their festive
packing’s. As it is a tradition in India to celebrate and exchange gifts in India during
festivities. So to attract the customers these international companies cater the needs of local
people and make huge profits and earn a good brand image in the market. Another reason can
be reputation of the company. Perk and Munch are both Rs 5 chocolates and have the same
wafer taste but people prefer to buy Munch as it has a better image in the market. So the
parent company has a lesser role in choosing the chocolate. Also there are other factors. Such
as hunger status after effect of chocolate consumption for example many company’s
manufacturer manufactures chocolate's containing alcohol and it has very negative impact on
the health of people consuming it. There are also other factors such as utility and effect of
people or society around you that form your attitudes and lifestyles according to which
people make their choices of buying a product.

Research Methodology

Sample Design

A Research design is a preparation of condition for collection and interpretation of data. In

this study only a few units of population where considered for analysis. In present the study
consists around 15 sample responses to study in the given area.

Research and Survey Method

The research methodology we opted for our project is solely based on primary data. We have
opted for the Survey Method. This method is one of the most flexible method for collecting
data. Moreover, it is very easy to understand and also ensures the reliability of data. The
samples chosen are according to the researcher convenience. It is also called convenience
sampling. The data we are collecting will be used to study consumer brand preference,
consumer behaviour and consumer satisfaction in terms of buying of chocolates.

Questionnaire were Distributed online in terms of Google Form and Physical questionnaire
was also distributed. So far we have collected 20 responses and we will be performing data
analysis on the given sample.

Research Instrument

The work is carried out through self-administered questions. The Questionnaire used in this
study is a combination of closed as well as open end questions.

Interpretation

A survey was conducted for 14 people which included 14 questions. The survey primary
targeted on the buying patterns and the consumer preferences towards chocolate. Maximum
number of respondents were of 21 years of age and the male to female ratio was 1 i.e. the
number of male and female respondents were same. The result was as follows:
50% of the respondents very much like chocolates and 28% of the respondents’ do not like
chocolate at all.
64% of the respondents eat chocolate 2 to 3 times a week.
64% like to eat chocolates because of sweet tooth and about 14% for energy purposes.
43% of the respondents gives the chocolates more inclination because of the celebrity
associated with the brand.
50% of the respondents chose milk chocolate as their favorite and most of the rest chose dark.
The average money spent by the respondents on chocolate over a period of month was
Rs.321.
50% buy chocolates from supermarkets and the rest buy it from Karyana Store.
The average price of the preferred chocolates was Rs.48.
92% would like to experiment with unknown chocolate brand.
About 71% of the respondents mostly saw chocolate advertisements on TV.

Questionnaire

Gender: _____________________________
Age: ________________________________

1. Do you like chocolates?

€ Very much
€ Okay
€ Not much
€ Not at all

2. How often do you eat chocolate?

€ Everyday
€ 2 to 3 times a week
 € Once a month
€ Only on occasions

3. Why you prefer eating chocolate?

€ For energy
€ Time pass
€ When hungry
€ Sweet tooth
€ Other reason______________

4. Rate your inclination in choice of chocolates on a scale of 1-5 (1 being the lowest)

€ Taste
€ Sweetness
€ Price
€ Calories
€ Packaging
€ Brand
€ Celebrities associated with the brands

5. What is your favourite type of chocolate?

€ Milk
€ White
€ Dark
€ Nutty
€ Crunchy
€ Wafer
€ Other_________

6. Which brand of chocolate do you prefer?

 € Cadbury
€ Nestle
€ Mars
€ Ferrero
€ Others_______________

7. Which sub brand you purchase? (tick next to it)

Cadbury Nestle Mars Ferrero Others

Dairy milk KitKat Snickers ero Rocher

Silk Bar-one Twix inder joy

ournville Munch Skittles

5-star Galaxy

Perk

Fuse

8. How much money you spend on chocolate in a month?

9. Where do you buy chocolate from?

€ Super markets
€ Karyana store
€ Bakeries
€ Others_______________

10. What do you think the reasonable price of your preferred chocolate should be?

11. Would you like to experiment with new chocolate brand whose name you have never
heard?
€ Yes
€ No
12. Do you continue to eat the chocolate of a particular brand if the company is in any
major controversy?

€ Yes
€ No

13. Where have you mostly see chocolates advertisements?

€ Billboards
€ Newspapers
€ Social media
€ TV
€ Radio
€ Directly in stores

14. Do you feel guilty after eating chocolates?

€ Yes
€ No
€ Sometimes

Roles of Group Members

CLASSIFICATION ROLE OF PERCENTAGE PERCENTAGE
OF ACTIVITY TEAM OF WORK OF
MEMBERS DONE PARTICIPATION

In Charge of the Ansh Gupta 15 20

Questionnaire
Data Analysis Arshdeep 10 20
Singh
Helping in Designing Divam 90 20
Questionnaire and Baluja
Research
Methodology
Defining each Garima Dhir 80 20
Objective in Detail
Collecting Data Rishabh 80 20
about the Industry Jhamb